Empty
by LiverQuiver
Summary: Be careful what you wish for. .Axine.


**.A/N.  
**A oneshot for you, my loves.  
I decided it wasn't good enough to be made into a full story, so. Here.  
-Throws packing peanuts at you.-  
Enjoy while I suffer morning -coughafternooncough- syndrome.

**.Disclaimer.  
**Ahh... Don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kairi would die, blah blah blah, Axel would be a gay Roxas stalker, blah blah blah, Marluxia would be the next Jeffree Star, blah blah blah...

--

Nothing.

Axel idly traced the barell of his shotgun with his index finger. After briefly checking that it was fully loaded, he swung it over his shoulder and exited his small apartment. It was late at night, and the complex was quiet, save for the sounds of other people snoring behind their own apartment doors. He didn't want all this - fear, anxiety, worry, anger, sadness, _love_ - he didn't want any of it. He knew what he wanted to feel. _Nothing._

But you can't always get what you want, right?

He was struck with an eerie silence as soon as he got to the parking lot. The cigarette that he had in his mouth dropped to the ground and he stepped on it. He wasn't suprised to see someone already sitting in the passenger seat of his black truck when he opened the door. Axel exhaled slowly and he sat, closing the door behind him and resting the gun on his lap. He started the car but didn't start driving. Silence. The other man turned his dyed-slate colored head to stare coldly into Axel's eyes.

"This is a bad idea, Axel." Axel began driving, not bothering to tell the other man to leave. Minutes passed while he listened to the quiet hum of the engine and his own breath, coming out in short, angry huffs.

"Have you ever been in love, Zexion?" He finally asked. Zexion didn't look at him.

"Not since Fuu died in childbirth. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for God to allow me that privledge." He took a pistol out of his jeans pocket and loaded it noisily. "Let's get this over with. I called Demyx earlier. He's on his way there now." Axel gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. His eyebrows furrowed but he kept his eyes on the road.

"He can't handle blood." It was a weak argument, considering what Demyx has been through before, but it's all Axel had. Zexion raised an eyebrow.

"And yet, he can clean it up the best. Never misses a spot." He absent-mindedly tapped his gun against the dashboard. I allowed myself a small smile.

"Hopefully he can clean up his own vomit." Zexion rolled his eyes and smirked. The smirk was empty. Zexion felt nothing; just like the rest of the 13th Order. It's because of that emptiness that Axel envied them. If he himself felt nothing, he wouldn't be in his current situation. He wished he could have the ability to turn his heart off at will, like the others have learned. Axel stopped the truck. They've arrived. Instead of getting out, Axel sat and stared at the white-painted mansion in front of them.

"Aren't you glad you have me?" Zexion teased, exited Axel's truck. He shut the door behind him. "I am the Cloaked Schemer, after all. The brains of the operation." He smiled briefly at the annoyed look on the other man's face.

"I didn't ask for your help." Axel gingerly flipped the man off. "I can handle this on my own." Zexion's grin faded into a look of annoyance to match Axel's.

"Oh really? The Flurry of Dancing Flames, too high and mighty for assistance!" He mocked. He spit on the ground and tapped his pistol to his forehead. "You don't have the brains to do this on your own. You're nothing but a vacant-minded pyromaniac who lets idiotic things like _feelings _and _morals _get in the way." Axel glared straight ahead as he walked to the front door, fuming.

"Then why are you wasting your precious time with me?" He asked sarcastically, raising a cigarette to his lips. He fumbled around his pockets for a lighter and sighed in dismay, realizing he forgot it at his apartment.

"Because when her time comes to die," Zexion answered, "I want to be the one to do it." Axel sneered at the man.

"Over my dead body."

"That can commence _after _the kidnap-slash-rescue." The two stared each other down for a moment and Zexion cracked a smile. Axel still glared. He never enjoyed the other man's sense of humor. He didn't even know why he hung out with the guy. Zexion showed no respect to others but himself and Demyx, who was the second youngest in the 13th Order - seventeen years old. Axel himself was twenty-six; Zexion, twenty-one.

The two men paused at the front door to the mansion and listened intently for any disturbances inside the building. Slowly and carefully, Zexion picked the lock and Axel tapped his foot anxiously. He wanted to get this over with. With a small _click, _the door opened and they entered cautiously, leaving the door open. Axel jumped slightly as he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Demyx, waving and smiling brightly.

_Damn, that boy is sneaky. _Axel thought to himself. He motioned Demyx to wait outside. The boy pouted for a second, but then shrugged, and mouthed "_Don't leave me out next time, okay?"_ Axel waved him off, and looked out a nearby window to make sure the blonde boy entered the car, and when he saw that he did, he started upstairs. Zexion sweeped the lower level.

After wincing with every creak he made as he ascended, Axel reached the top and blew a strand of red hair out of his face. He held his shotgun out, threatening to shoot anyone that unexpectedly popped out at him. He cried out in surprise when he heard Zexion's voice right behind him.

"Downstairs is clear." Axel cursed silently at the other male. He walked with light steps from door to door and listened into each one of them. The rooms were all eerily silent.

"Uhm, Zexion?"

"I know. Shh."

Unoccupied rooms at that time of night meant that the scumbags were awake. _Let's just hope most of the 13th Order just learned to stop snoring. _Axel thought to himself - though he knew that was unlikely. The pair moved on to the farthest room from the staircase and stopped at the door. Nervous sweat dripping from his face, Axel rested his hand on the doorknob, pausing for a moment; thinking about the consequences if they were caught. He quickly decided he didn't care. He had to do this. He opened the door with a jerk and his breath caught at the sight of his best friend, his fiance, his _life._

"You... came-" Her sentence was interupted by a fit of coughing. Her face was a ghastly shade of white and her blue eyes had dark rings around them. Axel immediatly crouched down and wrapped his arms around the woman - twenty-four, but appearing so much younger and smaller because of her state of illness.

"I'm not just going to let them keep you here while you cough up your lungs, Nami." His voice cracked at the last word and he decided to keep his mouth shut until they were out of there. He couldn't cry, not now - he couldn't let Namine see how weak he really was when it came to her. What he needed then was to be empty. To feel _nothing. _Namine gave him a sad smile and he helped her to her feet. Axel eyed her white tank-top and handed her his jacket, which was far too big for her when she put it on. She rolled up the sleeves and coughed, putting on a brave face.

Axel took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. The explosion was unexpected. His vision was hazy, and he could hear Zexion's shouts to evacuate immediatly. He couldn't move, and he was only certain of the fact that he could smell blood - a lot of blood, and that there was something lodged in his chest. Though his ears rang, he could still hear Namine's frantic sobs and pleas to get up. Axel couldn't think straight - he was overwhelmed with disbelief, anger, pain, fear.

_Dammit, this was supposed to work!_

Spots of black formed in his vision, and he handed her his shotgun.

When the police arrived, the building was empty aside from a severely injured, unconscious man.

--

"If the bastard would have only paid the ransom," Zexion raised a cigarette to his lips and lit it with a small, silver lighter, "he'd be married by now." He shook his head in pity. Demyx said nothing.

It had been eight months since the incident at the 13th Order's claimed territory. The 13th Order was a well-known gang around suburban areas of New York. Axel had been a member, - a very wealthy one, at that - but never showed his face again after proposing to his girlfriend, Namine. After many violent discussions on how to deal with this, the gang decided against murdering the both of them, and instead kidnapped Namine for a ransom of two-hundred thousand. Namine had been in the hospital with pneumonia at the time.

"I still think we should've showed up at the trial..." Demyx sighed. He had looked up to Axel in a way. Zexion gave him a stern look.

"There would be no point in that." He burnt out his cigarette and watched his daughter on the playground swingset, blissfully unaware of her father's true occupation. "There's nothing to fight for when the both of them are already dead."

"Both?" Demyx raised an eyebrow. He knew of Axel's death - the redhead had died of internal in his hospital bed a few hours after he was found at the mansion.

"Yeah. You didn't hear?" Zexion stood up and cracked his neck. "Namine shot herself the other day. With the gun Axel gave her for protection. Ironic, huh?" And uncomfortable silence washed over the pair and Zexion's daughter came to greet them. The man smiled.

"Besides..." He picked the small girl up and held her close, beginning to make his way towards his black volvo. "I only care about one person, and that's my daughter." Demyx scratched his head and followed. He had nothing else to do.

"Then why did you help?" He asked. Zexion shrugged.

"I guess I was trying to feel a little more..." Zexion quietly said. Demyx ran his hand through his blonde hair and gave a small smile.

"Although, Axel cared a little _too _much." He added, and smirked.

"The thing is, he didn't want to." Demyx replied, and Zexion reached into his pocket for his car keys. "And now... he is finally able to actually feel _nothing._"

--

**.A/N.  
**I kinda enjoy the idea of Zexypoo (Named so by Elusivebat) being a daddy. 21 with a kid...

Reviewers get Reno. Yes. Their very own Reno. Limited time offer.  
**Reno: **"Do I get any say in this?  
No. You whore with butter.

Suggestions for future oneshots are welcome!


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